Axe Ending: Continued
by VisualNovelGirl
Summary: Clover scanned Junpei's bracelet, then bracelet zero. She raised her hand up to scan her her own when…


Clover ran as fast as she could, gripping the axe she had just used to kill Junpei in her right hand. The axe was dripping with fresh blood, which slipped from the head, down to the handle, until finally settling on her hands. The blood dried quickly, mostly due to how quickly she was running. The wind from her running was similar to a hairdryer, hot and unpleasant. Her footsteps seemed to echo as she ran, causing Clover to think someone was going to pop out at any second and catch her in the act. Clover bolted down the stairs. Her hands were sweating, slightly washing some of the dried blood away, however, it was quite difficult to keep a firm grip on the axe. Clover found herself stopping often to readjust her hold on the axe. The same amount of sweat also beat down her forehead as she continued to run. The axed maniac gritted her teeth, gripping the fifth bracelet tightly in her left hand. She couldn't lose it. The bracelets she had collected was her ticket out. Clover stopped at the thought of the bracelets, and put her axe against a nearby wall. She shoved her right hand down into her pocket, still keeping a firm grip on the bracelet in her left hand. She started to feel around, making sure that all the bracelets were there. Checking pocket after pocket, she found bracelet zero, which she had stolen from the captain after killing him, bracelet number seven, bracelet number six, and bracelet number three. She took her hand out of her pocket, and once again placed it firmly on the axe. Clover grinned with the smile of a demon, then continued to run. She wasn't far now. Only another minute, and she would be in the room that contained door number nine. Her mind wandered to her brother, who had been killed at the hands of Seven and Santa. This….This is what her brother would've wanted her to do. Get revenge on the people who had killed him…..and anyone who had collaborated with them. When June had suddenly stepped in front of Santa and Seven, trying to protect them from their fates, Clover had come to the conclusion that she had been on the whole thing. Hell, probably everyone on the damn ship was collaborating with Zero. Everyone except for Light and herself. She held back tears, remembering how cruelly and suddenly her brother had died.

"I hope you're proud of me….. Light….."

With these words, Clover approached the room that held door number nine, and she threw open the door. The room was small and oppressive, and it looked similar to a chapel. There were seven pews scattered around the room in neat rows, and in front of it lie door number nine. She grinned, and shut the door behind her. Clover walked forward, scanning the room as she started to approach door number nine. Candles that were hung on the wall, flickered as she walked, providing an eerie like atmosphere to the room. Clover, didn't pay much attention to them, and continued to scan the room. She had to make sure no one would be around to see what she was doing. But if one were to think about it, who would be around? If she was to believe what Junpei had said, Ace wanted to show Lotus something. But where? And for that matter, what?

Her right hand gripped the axe tighter, realizing that she had no knowledge of where the two might be. For all she knew, they could be on Deck C with her. She had to hurry before the two found out what had transpired not five minutes prior. Clover spotted something out of the corner of her eye, to the southwest corner of the room. A door with the number 9 written on it. There had been two doors all along?. Clover raised an eyebrow, and began to debate which door to go through. The smaller one located in the southwest corner, or the bigger one located in front of the pews? Was there a difference? She sighed, knowing she needed to make a decision quickly, and ran up to the one in front of the pews. Clover scanned Junpei's bracelet, then bracelet zero. She raised her hand up to scan her her own when…

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

A shriek loud enough to shatter glass escaped Clover's mouth, and she quickly whirled around. Bracelet zero fell to the floor when she gripped the axe in both hands. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, searching for anything or anyone that could've made that noise. She stayed in place, too scared to move.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Who's there?" Clover's voice was soft and shaky. A huge lump had formed in her throat out of fear. She was trying desperately to make herself sound intimidating, but failing miserably. You could compare her shaky voice to a little girl who thinks there are monsters under her bed.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Clover let out a soft whimper as she continued to look around the room. Her heart was racing unbelievably fast, and she was shocked this didn't result in a heart attack. Finally, Clover located an object that was on top of an altar, where the noise seemed to be coming from. At the top of the altar was a coffin. There was no mistaking it, the noise was coming from there. Petrified, Clover began to walk toward the coffin. Her movements were slow, due to her fear. She didn't know what lay under that coffin, but she had watched enough horror movies to know that the end result would lead to her death. A voice inside of her was screaming not to move any closer, similar to how people scream in the movie theaters during a horror film when someone is about to answer a door. But like those idiotic people who answer the door, Clover continued to move forward. Her grip on the axe still remained tight, and was becoming tighter with every step she took. As Clover grew closer, the knocking became louder and louder. She turned around once she was directly in front of the coffin, the paranoia of someone sneaking up behind her and killing her from behind taking over. Clover walked backwards until she hit a wall, jumping at the impact. However, she recovered quickly. Clover approached the coffin and stared down at it, contemplating what to do. The pounding was getting annoying by the minute, but whoever was trapped in there wanted out and wanted out now. Mixed with curiosity and fear, Clover's hands shook as she raised the axe into the air. She slammed it down against the coffin doors, snapping them into two. The axe lodged itself in one of the doors, something she hadn't expected to happen.

'The materials must have been strong,' She thought to herself, throwing the two broken pieces of the coffin door aside.

Clover looked inside the coffin, but what she found was not what she had expected.

"L-Light!?"

Clover backed far away from the coffin, once again making impact with the wall. Light sat up slowly, gripping his head firmly with his right hand. He was wearing a long red and black robe, different from his usual clothing. Many questions flooded Clover's mind at once. How was he still alive? Wasn't he killed? If he was alive, who was that man who lay dead in the shower room. Light, not seeing the shocked expression of Clover, smiles when he hears her voice, looking around to try and pinpoint where her cry and had come from.

"Oh my… is that you, Clover? I apologize for worrying you."

Tears formed quickly in Clover's eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. How could she believe? It was like he had come back to life. But that didn't matter now, her brother…. Light…Light.… Light was alive! Clover leapt into the coffin, tackling Light to the ground. His head hit against the rim of the coffin, making him yelp in pain. Clover didn't seem to notice, as she clung onto him by the neck, sobbing into his chest.

"It's you…you're back…it's really you….It's you…." She repeated these words over and over as she continued to sob.

Light wanted to rub his throbbing head, but when felt the tears seeping into his clothes, he raised an eyebrow. Why was his sister crying? Was it because he had disappeared for so long? Nonetheless, Light wrapped his arms around the shaking girl, holding her closely to him. He rocked her back and forth, trying to ease her tears.

"Shh…. shh…" He soothed. "It's alright, Clover. Ease your tears… my word, you act as if I've returned from the grave."

"Because you did!" Clover exclaimed in between sobs. "We all thought… you…. but…. I….then who was…." She widened her eyes in realization as her mind flashed back to the image of the dead man lying on the floor in shower room. His left arm was flesh and bones, but Light's arm was… prosthetic. Inwardly cursing at herself for being so stupid, she hugged Light tighter. Not only did she feel relief, but now overdriving guilt as well. Light noticed the sudden change in her emotions. Her sobs had went to sobs of relief to sobs of despair.

"Clover…what has gotten into you?" Light asked in confusion.

"We… we all thought you had died… someone…. was in your clothes… and they were in the shower room dead…." She gulped, trying to clear the large lump in her throat. Everyone she had killed…their deaths had been pointless. Light had been alive this whole time. There had been no need to kill anyone. "I… we all thought that Seven and Santa had killed you… because of their bracelet numbers…"

"I see…"

"W-What about you, Light?" Clover asked, trying to change the subject. "What happened to you?"

"While we were searching for the missing parts of the RED, I was knocked out with some kind of gas… then I suppose I was brought here. I've been unconscious ever since. Until now," He paused for a moment. "Back to my previous questions, are the others elsewhere?"

"A-Ace wanted to show Lotus something…."

"Hmm… and what about Junpei, Santa, June, and Seven?"

"….Dead."

"Wh-What?"

"They're…. dead. All of them.…"

"What happened to them?"

Clover hesitated, trying to think of a lie she could tell. Anything. Anything that would excuse her from telling the truth. She had been silent for so long, Light shifted uncomfortably at the long pause. Why had she not replied yet?

"Do you not know what became of them?" Light asked.

"N-No… I do…. I do know…"

"What are you waiting for then?"

Clover's breathing grew faster as she continued to search her brain for an excuse. Nothing was coming up. She was drawing a blank. A knot formed in her chest. Tears continued to flow violently from her eyes.

"Clover…were they murdered?"

"Yes…."

"By whom?"

Again, no response. Light was growing frustrated….until something clicked in his head. He didn't want to believe it. He would never believe it for as long as he lived…but it was the only logical solution. It was the only reason why Clover wasn't telling him what had happened. He could still feel her shaking against him. He slowly released her from the embrace, but Clover remained on him, still clinging on tightly to his neck.

"Yotsuba…. did you…" Clover had knew she would be in trouble for doing this, but when Light said her real name is when the world started to fall apart.

"I…..I…I…..I'm so sorry, Light….. I just…. I thought…this is what you…..I thought you would…..want me…..to…..avenge….…" Yotsuba couldn't finish her sentence. Her voice was shaky, and violent hiccups interrupted her as she spoke. She wanted Light to pull her close again. She wanted to feel the warmth of his skin against her. She wanted him to reassure her everything would be alright. Light did nothing but sit there in silence. He seemed to be processing what he had just heard. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke again.

"Yotsuba… I've never been more disappointed in you…" His words pierced her deeply, similar to a knife cutting through human flesh. Tears continued to flow at a rapid pace. Eventually, Light sighed and stood up. His voice was cold as he spoke.

"Listen to me, Yotsuba Field. I'm going to give you instructions, and you damn well better follow them. Like I said before, I'm very very disappointed in you," He shook his head. "We're going to find Lotus. Once we do, the three of us are going to escape together. Am I clear?"

"W-What about A-Ace?"

Light sighed. "I….yes, him too, I suppose."

Once they had reached a decision, Light stepped out of the coffin, and waited for his younger sister to lead him down the altar. However, Yotsuba couldn't stand. She was shaking violently, her brothers words echoing in her head. Never in his life had he said he was disappointed in her. Yotsuba had only wanted to avenge him… She thought murdering them would avenge him…but he had been alive all this time. There had been no need to avenge anyone. Hugging herself, Yotsuba stood up slowly and also stepped out of the coffin. She took Light's hand in her own, and led him down the stairs, albeit shakily.

Yotsuba pressed her left hand against the wall, doing her best to keep herself steady. If not for the wall beside her, she surely would have collapsed. She was lightheaded and dizzy. The guilt was growing and growing by the minute. She had killed innocent people…. innocent people… there had been no need to murder them…. Eventually, her tears subsided, albeit still flowing down at a slow pace. Yotsuba guided Light up the stairs and onto the "B" deck. She continued to navigate, still keeping her left hand pressed firmly against the wall as they walked. They weren't making exceedingly fast progress, but it was still progress. As they passed a clock, Yotsuba checked the time. five AM.

"Light, it's five in the morning. We have an hour left." Yotsuba announced.

"Hmm… We will search for half an hour. If we do not find them in that time, we will use the bracelets you _stole _to escape," The word stole was said with anger, but the rest of his words were said with despair. "Am I clear?"

"Yes…"

As Yotsuba led Light around a corner, she let out a loud shriek. Light was taken aback by the sudden noise, but remained calm.

"What is it? What did you-"

"L-Lotus is…"

Lotus was lying on the ground, a knife was sticking out of her back. A pool of blood surrounded her dead body. It was less gruesome than the other sights Yotsuba had seen, and certainly less gruesome then the corpses of Junpei and the others. Still, the sight of a dead body caused her to shudder. Light squeezed her hand, sensing her fear. He was still furious with her for killing the innocent, but she was still his sister. Yotsuba wanted to move closer to him, but Light spoke before she could do so.

"If Lotus is dead… that means…"

It seemed to click in Yotsuba's head as quickly as it did in Light's. Yotsuba grabbed Light by the wrist and began sprinting back down the hallway. She needed to get back to Deck C. They needed to escape _now_. The tears had stopped completely. Her mind was focused on getting herself and her brother out. She turned a corner violently, making sure her brother was following close behind.

"Y-Yotsuba…" Light's voice interrupted her thoughts. "The only person who could've killed Lotus would've been-"

"Ace…."

Light nodded, although Yotsuba couldn't see it. As they ran down the stairs, Light spoke again.

"Yotsuba, there's something I need to tell you."

"W-What is it?"

"Ace… I've heard his voice before. I recognize the way he speaks… Do you remember the first Nonary game we participated in nine years ago? On your ninth birthday?"

"H-How could I forget something like that?"

"Ace…. he's…. Gentarous Hongou. The man who took us hostage."

Light stopped talking when he heard the sound of a door being thrown open. He assumed they were back in the room where Door 9 was. Yotsuba guided Light over to the door, but she jerked to a stop. Light stopped with her.

"Why? Why did we-"

"I-It's him…" Yotsuba whispered.

In front of them was Ace…or Gentarous Hongou. He was looking over the ninth door, as if examining it for anything interesting. He let out a malevolent chuckle before turning to face the two siblings. It was then that Yotsuba noticed that he was holding a gold revolver in his right hand.

"Well done. It seems you two are the only remaining survivors." His tone was sarcastic and his voice was bone chilling. Yotsuba, fearing for her life, gripped Light's hand.

Gentarous was holding three bracelets in his left hand. Bracelet number nine, bracelet number five, and bracelet zero. Bracelet zero… Yotsuba had dropped that when she heard Light pounding against the coffin. She tried to take a step back but didn't dare move when she heard the sound of the revolver being cocked. A small gasp escaped her lips.

"I require only a few things from you. The bracelets. If I receive them, I will not shoot you," Gentarous stood there, his eyes empty and lifeless. He had been possessed by a demon of some sorts. "You have nine seconds. Eight…. seven…. six…"

Yotsuba shoved both of her hands inside her pockets and threw the bracelets at Gentarous. First five… then three…. then six…. then seven…. Gentarous picked them up one by one and put them into his coat pockets. He continued to count down.

"That's all the bracelets I have!" Yotsuba protested.

"Three… two…. one…."

A gunshot rang through the room, the sound of the gunshot causing her to go deaf for a few seconds. Yotsuba expected for a bullet to pierce through her chest, and had braced for the impact. But the bullet never came. She opened her eyes to see Light standing in front of her, blood dripping down his chest. He collapsed to the ground after a few seconds, and his bracelet bounced off his left arm and slid next to Gentarous's feet.

"Light!" Yotsuba cried out in agony. This time, her brother really was dead. After thinking he had been dead for so long, only for him to come back to life, and die not ten minutes later. Yotsuba's waterfall of tears returned as she kneeled beside her brother, taking him in her arms. His body was still warm, and she thought she might still have time to save him. But all too quickly, it turned cold.

Another shot rang through the room, this time, a horrible pain throbbing in Yotsuba's head. Gentarous had shot her. She collapsed to the ground, falling on top of Light's body. Her vision was growing white, but she was doing her best to cling on to what remaining life she had. She used the last of her remaining strength to look up at Gentarous, who was looking down at her with a horrible smile on his face.

"Game over, little girl. I win."

One last shot rang through the room before Yotsuba lost consciousness.


End file.
